Ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert indicted

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Howard Schneider, Washington Post

Published 4:00 am, Monday, August 31, 2009

Photo: Pool, Getty Images

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JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JULY 8: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gestures during a meeting with U.S. astronaut Leland D. Melvin July 8, 2008 in in Jerusalem, Israel. According to reports, Olmert will be questioned for a third by police about an alleged bribe he received from a American businessman. (Photo by Gali Tibbon-Pool/Getty Images) less

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JULY 8: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gestures during a meeting with U.S. astronaut Leland D. Melvin July 8, 2008 in in Jerusalem, Israel. According to reports, Olmert will be ... more

Photo: Pool, Getty Images

Ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert indicted

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Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Sunday in a corruption scandal that led to his resignation last year and set the stage for a rightward shift in Israeli politics.

Prosecutors alleged that Olmert, as mayor of Jerusalem in the 1990s and later as trade minister, profited from a double-billing scheme in which he charged charities and the government for trips and expenses already paid by other organizations.

About $90,000 collected for trips - often to the United States and sponsored by major Jewish groups - was allegedly accumulated in his account at a travel agency and then used for personal vacations and other expenses, according to the indictment.

His former office manager, Shula Zaken, 52, also was indicted in the case.

The 61-page indictment includes charges related to Olmert's acceptance of as much as $150,000 from New York businessman Morris Talansky - funds that Talansky testified last summer were meant for Olmert's political campaigns but that he believed were used for personal purposes.

Throughout the investigation, Olmert, 63, has maintained his innocence, and a spokesman told local media Sunday that Olmert expected to be exonerated.

Noting that other allegations against Olmert were dropped without charges being brought, spokesman Amir Dan told the daily Haarertz that Olmert "is convinced that he will once and for all be able to prove his innocence in court."

The investigation undermined Olmert's already troubled tenure as head of the Israeli government and complicated efforts last fall to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.